Help Me, please! Budget problems, have debt but do work!

hellokitty08

Thank you all very much for your help so far, i really appreciate it. I didnt get round to completing the finance details, what I thought would be a good idea was if I posted the details of what when in and out of my account last month, and I am going to do that tonight.

I use my credit card once a year to add my car insurance to, but I buy it on an old card and then do a balance transfer to an interest free one, it works out cheaper then paying the difference to do it monthly. This in an old debt that was closer to £3k last year, so I am making progress.

Also I need some advice about my bills. I am terrified of setting them up on a monthly direct debit payment as I always hear stories of people who pay a set amount each month and then the companies increas this and you cant do anything about it. I dont want to get in to a position where I am in credit with my bills as I feel thats money I cant afford them to have. So I get my water bill twice a year and my electricity bill once a quarter. Both have just come through so I have £200 to pay out this month on bills. £120 for water and £80 for electricity. Does that make sence or is the a better way to do it?

I know I have the money there to make a difference I am not sure how to do it.

Things like shopping, I write a meal plan, I do a big shop online once a month to stop me impulse buying at the supermarket, I dont buy any "luxuries" as in sweets, chocolate, or goodies, I dont drink. I am not fussy about brands, (other then andrex, my bum deserves the best) I try to top up through the month with offers and reduced bargains, but i think this is where most of my money goes.

If i put up my spends for the last month, would everyone be able to offer me some more support / advice?

horsechestnut

Check the best price for Gas & Electricity via a comparison site, then join Quidco, and register via them. (Look on the Quidco forum for tips; you need to clear your cookies between actions. I didn't even know what this meant , but followed instruction on this site and have earned over £400 in 3 years for minimum purchases and spend.) I got £120 for switching, the best deal at the time, and reduced even further by paying monthly and having online bills.
I understand why you feel that you don't want them to have your money if you are in credit, but you save so much more by monthly payment and paperless bills, it works out in your favour., and if it saves you going overdrawn then it is money well spent. I will happily go into credit over the summer to cover my winter bills; even with the very best savings account I would have only earned £3 interest on the amount built up!
Are you doing surveys? You won't earn a fortune but over the year you will get enough to buy clothes/gifts for the year.
If you need to have your hair cut regularly, can you go to your local college? It is much cheaper than a regular hairdresser. If this is not an option, can you go for say 5 weeks instead of 4 weeks between visits?
Look on the old style board for tips on savings. The Stardrops one is good for saving on cleaning materials. If you can't get/ don't like Stardrops, the use Flash liquid and dilute that in your spray bottle.
Go to the Supermarket after work, at the time that they reduce things and alter your menus accordingly.
Do you get point for buying your petrol from the supermarket? Of course make sure that it is the cheapest price anyway!
And if you do keep a credit card for certain purchases the you definitely pay off at the end of the month, can you get a cash-back/loyalty points card? M&S give points and there is no annual fee.

DO keep looking at just how much you have paid off already; YOU HAVE DONE WELL ! Keep going!!!

hellokitty08

horsechestnut wrote: »

Check the best price for Gas & Electricity via a comparison site, then join Quidco, and register via them. (Look on the Quidco forum for tips; you need to clear your cookies between actions. I didn't even know what this meant , but followed instruction on this site and have earned over £400 in 3 years for minimum purchases and spend.) I got £120 for switching, the best deal at the time, and reduced even further by paying monthly and having online bills.
I understand why you feel that you don't want them to have your money if you are in credit, but you save so much more by monthly payment and paperless bills, it works out in your favour., and if it saves you going overdrawn then it is money well spent. I will happily go into credit over the summer to cover my winter bills; even with the very best savings account I would have only earned £3 interest on the amount built up!
I will investigate further.
Are you doing surveys? You won't earn a fortune but over the year you will get enough to buy clothes/gifts for the year. "Fur"Cone is my best friend. I live on their vouchers at the end of the month in the supermarket. I know we are not allowed to mention the real name of the company.
If you need to have your hair cut regularly, can you go to your local college? It is much cheaper than a regular hairdresser. If this is not an option, can you go for say 5 weeks instead of 4 weeks between visits? Realisitcally I only get my hair cut every two-three months and I forgot to give the money to my mum after she paid last time.

Look on the old style board for tips on savings. The Stardrops one is good for saving on cleaning materials. If you can't get/ don't like Stardrops, the use Flash liquid and dilute that in your spray bottle.
Go to the Supermarket after work, at the time that they reduce things and alter your menus accordingly.
I have some star drops but never actually used it. Will give it a go. But I dont really buy cleaning products. (that makes me sounds grubby! lol, maybe twice a year)
Do you get point for buying your petrol from the supermarket? Of course make sure that it is the cheapest price anyway!
I have a morrisons card for petrol, its always the cheapest place to buy it in my town. I have had three vouchers in all the time I have been driving! lol
And if you do keep a credit card for certain purchases the you definitely pay off at the end of the month, can you get a cash-back/loyalty points card? M&S give points and there is no annual fee.

DO keep looking at just how much you have paid off already; YOU HAVE DONE WELL ! Keep going!!!

All good ideas. Thanks.

dancingfairy

Hi - I've never had a problem with direct debits to be honest - they can't just change them willy nilly. As long as you set them up for a sensible amount you should be fine - keep an eye on usage just to make sure you are not building up loads of credit etc or massively underpaying but you should be alright. There is also a thing called the direct debit guarantee which all the big companies are signed up to I believe - it explains your rights to you if you do have any problems with the direct debits.
df
Edit: found this that explains how the direct debit guarantee gscheme works:
http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Consumers/DirectDebit/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx
The other options of course is to have a seperate bank account for bills and each month transfer the correct amount over so when the bill becomes due you have the money in their and aren't scrabbling about trying to cover it. Personally I find DD so much easier though as it's a set amount each month and it comes out without me having to say or do anything or worry about forgetting to pay any bills.

[Deleted User]

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1350 (Is there any way that you can increase you income? over time, second job? Check out the "up your income" board for inspiration)
Total monthly income.................... 1350

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 425
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 90 (Are you getting the single persons allowance? Are you paying it over 10 months? Ask if you can spread it over 12 - this will free up a little extra each month)
Electricity............................. 20 (this is good, just regularly check if you are on the cheapest tariff for your area/usage - and if/when you switch use cash back sites)
Gas..................................... 15 (as above)
Water rates............................. 20 (are you on a meter? would a meter be better if you are living alone?)
Telephone (land line)................... 19
Mobile phone............................ 20 (Are you using all the free texts and calls that you are given in your contract each month? If not, switch to SIM only or PAYG - could get a better deal depending on what you use)
TV Licence.............................. 12

Groceries etc. ......................... 100 (Again this is good - but perhapse could shave a little - own brands, cheaper supermarkets (lidl/Aldi), batch cook, meal plan etc - go to the "Old style board for advice here)
Clothing................................ 20 (use what you have and buy essentials only for now, also have a clear out and e-bay what you no longer wear)
Petrol/diesel........................... 120 (any way of reducing this - public transport, car share, walk cycle?)
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 30 (Can you go a week or two longer in between cuts? Do you have a college near by where cuts are much cheaper?)
Entertainment........................... 30
Total monthly expenses..................


Assets
Car(s).................................. 0 (Car should be here)
Total Assets............................ 0

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
OD Barclays....................2425......0.........18 (Is there a monthly charge on this? - some do/some dont?)CC.............................1100......100...... .18
OD Natwest.....................300.......0.........18 (as above)
Total unsecured debts..........3825......100.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income....................
Expenses (including HP & secured debts).
Available for debt repayments........... 93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 100
Amount short for making debt repayments. -7 (I think that you can easily make this up without too much trouble, but to make headway with the o/d's you'll need to make more cutbacks)

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,825
Net Assets.............................. -3,825

This is howfar I have got, but dont know where to put things like, bank fees, intrest charges, etc.

Hi,
Things don't look to bad and can be under control reasonable easily. But just another couple of comments. Are you making any payments towards your o/d's at present (or is that where you are incurring the additional charges), and does the interest added put you over your agreed allowance - if this is the case concentrate on getting these under control.

If that's not the case and they are just stagnant each month, then (as all your debts are charging the same interest), concentrate any surpulus you find from your SOA towards one of the debts (whilst maintaining your minimum payments on the others). The Natwest one o/d looks like the one that could be tackled quickest, and then you can concentrate your efforts on the remaining two.

Hope that helps

DrSyn

I have never had a problem with "direct debits on my current account". As I understand it:

(a) This is an agreement between "you and the bank". This means you tell the bank who to pay, what amount and how often.

(b) You are in charge, so you can cancel the agreement at any time.

(c) If the bank pays the wrong amount, they have to refund you straight away.

(d) If the company wants to incease the set amount they must tell you before they wish to draw that amount.

Note
The danger is when someone sets up what looks like a direct debit with the credit card company ( & not with their bank). I forget the technical name for it. With this :

(a) The agreement is between the credit company and the company being paid (not you).

(b) Cancelling these and getting any refunds can be a real problem.

I think you should not start this type of agreement ever!

TheBex

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1350
Partners monthly income after tax....... n/a
Benefits................................ n/a
Other income............................ n/a
Total monthly income.................... 1350

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 425
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 90
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 15 These look low to me, is that the year average, or are you just very good?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 19
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV......................
Internet Services.......................
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 You have to budget for this. Your petrol costs tell me you're driving a least 600 miles a month and you need to look after your car to avoid huge bills - include the MOT, service and some money for new tyres, plus all those little bits like screenwash, oil, antifreeze...
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 Even if you can't currently afford to go to the dentist, it would be wise to budget for the check ups at least.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0 Do you need something here? Not everyone does but I thought it worth checking.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0 Do you pay for phone insurance?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 30 As discussed previously this isn't accurate.
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 It's worth having something here, even if you just stick a £20 under your mattress to give you something in the event of losing your wallet. It makes sense not to have savings while you pay off debts, but a buffer in case of problems like your car dying etc only needs to be small.
Total monthly expenses..................

Hi there,

I've highlighted some sections you may need to look at again. I think the biggest problem here is that your budget isn't accurate. If you do have 300ish spare each month in the budget (as a PP said - not checked) then you would see those debts reduce much faster. If you check these and find the budget's wrong, throw a new one together and we can take another look.

Good luck

Bex

vintagegirl

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1350
Partners monthly income after tax....... n/a
Benefits................................ n/a
Other income............................ n/a
Total monthly income.................... 1350

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 425
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 90
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 15
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 19
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV......................
Internet Services.......................
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses..................


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
OD Barclays....................2425......0.........18
CC.............................1100......100...... .18
OD Natwest.....................300.......0.........18
Total unsecured debts..........3825......100.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income....................
Expenses (including HP & secured debts).
Available for debt repayments........... 93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 100
Amount short for making debt repayments. -7

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,825
Net Assets.............................. -3,825

This is howfar I have got, but dont know where to put things like, bank fees, intrest charges, etc.

sorry to butt in but are your overdrafts interest free? this might account for some extra cash going missing

hellokitty08

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1350
Partners monthly income after tax....... n/a
Benefits................................ n/a
Other income............................ n/a
Total monthly income.................... 1350

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 425
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 90
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 15
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)...................
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV......................
Internet Services....................... 18
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10 for service
Car is less then 3 years old so not mot required yet
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses..................


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
OD Barclays....................2425......43.........18
(charges, overdraft fee and interest)
CC.............................1800......100...... .18
(still in interest free)
OD Nationwide..................300........2.........?
CC Natwest.....................300.......0.........18
(car insurance - to transfer this month to interest free card)
Total unsecured debts..........4825......100.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1350
Expenses (including HP & secured debts).
Available for debt repayments........... ?
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 100
Amount short for making debt repayments. ?

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,825

Just to complete a few more details, as it was wrong before

hellokitty08

dancingfairy wrote: »

Hi - I've never had a problem with direct debits to be honest - they can't just change them willy nilly. As long as you set them up for a sensible amount you should be fine - keep an eye on usage just to make sure you are not building up loads of credit etc or massively underpaying but you should be alright. There is also a thing called the direct debit guarantee which all the big companies are signed up to I believe - it explains your rights to you if you do have any problems with the direct debits.
df
Edit: found this that explains how the direct debit guarantee gscheme works:
http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Consumers/DirectDebit/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx
The other options of course is to have a seperate bank account for bills and each month transfer the correct amount over so when the bill becomes due you have the money in their and aren't scrabbling about trying to cover it. Personally I find DD so much easier though as it's a set amount each month and it comes out without me having to say or do anything or worry about forgetting to pay any bills.

Ok so i will set this up as this might help me budget better on a monthly basis.